Ask the Scribe: Everything you wanted to know about scribes but never met one to ask

Mon 8 March 2021

As part of Cambridge University Library's exhibition Ghost Words: Reading the Past ('opens' online Monday 1 March), on palimpsest manuscripts, find out about the work of an expert who continues the Jewish tradition of handcopying sacred texts.

Learn about the work of the Sofer (Hebrew Scribe) at this event hosted by the Genizah Research Unit. The materials, rules and methods involved in creating and fixing Sifrey Torah, tefillin, mezuzot and megillot according to sacred traditions. How do modern day scribes work with parchment, make ink, cut a quill, write the holy words, sticking to the myriad of rules on letter forms. Correct mistakes and make repairs? Which name should be blotted out before writing and why? What happens when a dog eats your Torah? Or there’s an accident with hagbahah (elevation) or some nuns have a megillat Esther and more.

There will also be an opportunity to ask questions during the event via Zoom's Q&A function. Supported by the Littman Genizah Educational Programme.

About the speaker: Marc Michaels is a Hebrew scribe – a sofer ST”aM and an expert presenting and writing on topics related to Jewish scribal practice. He is also a Strategy and Creative Director at a London agency and a graphic designer. Marc is currently studying part-time for a PhD at Cambridge University (FAMES), researching Sefer Tagin, the manual for sofrim (scribes) concerning the decorative tagin (tittles) and ‘strange’ letter forms that adorn certain words in the Torah. His first academic monograph Sefer Tagin Fragments from the Cairo Genizah: A Critical Edition, Commentary and Reconstruction, part of the Cambridge Genizah Studies Series was published in late 2020.

Cost: Free